I know what you may be thinking, “this chick is crazy if she truly believes that nature is not enough!” And guess what? I agree!
Nature is amazing! Being outside is my all time favorite thing. I spend most of my time pursuing a life of outdoor adventure, and have seen some of the most beautiful places on Earth. I believe nature has the ability to humble, teach, and replenish anyone who takes the time to truly be in it.
So why am I saying that nature is not enough? Well, before I go into that, let me give you some background about my life so far.
I grew up in Colorado and quickly fell in love with running barefoot in the grass. Soon, I realized how much beauty the mountains held and wanted to hike up and ski down them all. (Seriously, it used to be my goal to stand on top of every single mountain and hill in the state). Then I was introduced to backpacking and fell deeper in love with the outside world. Backpacking taught me about the simplicity of life and how happiness is a few steps or a bowl of food away. Spending endless days in the wilderness quickly changes how you view the world. It teaches you patience, strength, endurance, and flexibility. You can’t control nature, it controls you when you’re out there. I love that. I love how rain, wind, lighting, and the sun can humble, teach, and replenish you all at once.
This passion spurred me to enroll in a semester of National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) in college. I spent 80 nights in the Pacific Northwest wilderness learning all about backpacking, mountaineering, sailing, and rock climbing. It was a life changing experience that not only taught me hard skills of living in the wild, but also life long lessons about living in community. I continued to indulge my love of the outdoors by working at summer camps. I was able to guide awesome teenage girls on backpacking and cycling trips. These adventures lead me all over Colorado, New Hampshire/Maine, Nova Scotia, and Michigan.
These days, I take my restless self on a lot of solo adventures. I thru-hiked the Colorado Trail in the summer of 2020, traveled solo for a few weeks in Europe, and now spend my spare time hiking as much as possible. I love nature! I love mountains! I love everything about it, but I have learned that nature alone does not make life complete (at least not mine). Nature certainly adds beauty, awe, and adventure to life, but it is not able to satisfy all our human desires. Simply put: nature is not enough.
So that’s the main idea of this blog. I want to help you view nature as a force of positive power in your life, but I also want to explore what else life has to offer. Being in nature can satisfy that sense of awe and appreciation of beauty, but I also have to argue that forming community, being knowledgeable about how to function outdoors, and being connected to the spirit inside of you all add up to being enough.
I hope you follow along with me on this journey! You can expect to see a lot of random tidbits on this blog, but hopefully you also find a sense of belonging and guidance. I am not an expert on anything, but I am passionate about helping people find out what makes them tick! And if it’s nature, well, you’re in the right place.
Cheers,
Michelle
Nature's not Enough 